Rotary dusting machine



Feb. 1,1927., 1,616,132

,WI` H. LA FOUNTAIN ROTARY DUSTING 'MACHINE lmed Nov, 12, 1925 2 sheets-shet 1` Feb. 1 1927. www2 W. M. LA FOUNTMN RQTARY DUSTING MACHINE Filed Nov. l2. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 1, 1927.

NUE. STATES 'ROTARY DUSTNG MACE-Emili.

Application llked November 155, 1925.

My invention relates to a rotary dusting machine and has ior its principal objects, the provision oi' relatively simpl-e, practical and economically operated machine that is especially designed lor the extraction of dust from carpets, rugs, draperies, clothing, or, in iact any fabric that contains dust; further, to provide a machine of the character referred to that is practically airtight and dust prooi, in that oi' the` dust extracted from the fabric placed in the machine is caught and held in suitable containers Within the machine, thus preventing the extracted dust from leaving the machine and circulating in the room or building in Which theextractor is located; iurther, to provide an improved form oit rotary drum wherein the dust laden fabric ,or articles are constantly agitated lduring the dust extracting operations; further, to provide for the separation oi' the heavier particles oi dust from the lighter particles, and which latter tend to float in the air, and further, to generally improve upon and simplify theJ construction oi the existing` forms oit dust eK- tracting machines.

lWith the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel :features of vconstruction and yarrangement of parts that will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in Which- Fig. l is a side elevational view of a dusting machine embodying the principles of my invention.

Fig'. 2 is a front elevational section of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of lthe machine and showing the ,doorsof the dust bag compartments open,

lFig. t is `a vertical longitudinal section taken approximately on the line lV-i of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is Ian elevational view of the rotary drum and showing the door thereof.

'F ig. 6 is an enlarged detail section taken approximately on the lineot Fig. 4.

`Fig. 7 is a detail section showing a inedilied arrangement of vthe air `inlet ,from one off-the dust-bag chambers into the drum chamber of` the machine.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken through the central portion ot a modified form of the rotary drum. v

eierring by numerals vto the accompanysei-iai no. e ,aan

vsaid drum comprising a pair of slatted discshaped sides '13 anda circumferential Wall that is made up oi transverselyv disposed slats lll, the ends thereof being secured to the edges ot the slatted discs 13. rThis drum is reeni'orced on its edges by circumferentially disposed bands l5 off metal and ertending aroundthe intermediate portions oi the slatted circumference are reeniorcing members 16 of Wire or metal tape. A portion ot the slatted circumiferenceoi this drum is formed into a. door 17 that is mountedon hing-es i8 and Which is retained in closed position by suitable latches 19.

Arranged on the inner face ot' the slatted periphery of the drum and disposed 120C apart lare transversely disposed ribs 2O that are substantially il-shaped incross section with their inner vends rounded as designated by 21, and disposed at intermediate points between these ribs 20 and arranged on the inner face oi the slatted periphery are ribs 22, .the inner ends. oi: which are enlarged and made substantially oval shape incross section, vthereby providing beater heads such as 23.

As the drinn is rotated the ribs 20 and members Q2, 23, are designed to engage the fabric and carry .the same up to the top of the drum, at which point the fabric 4drops to the bottom of the drum, and this 'repeated operation very quickly extracts the dust `from the fabric.

Projecting from the sides oi"- the yslatted drum are axially disposed trunnions '2li that operate in suitable bearings arranged in the side Walls oi' housing l0, and secured to one oi' these trunnions is a gear Wheel Q5.

Secured on the side Wall directly above the trunnion that .carriesthe gear `Wheel is a plate 26 from Which projects a trunnion 27 and mounted to rotate thereupon is a hub carrying a pinion 28 and a belt wheel 29. Pinion 28 meshes With gear AWheel 25 and belt Wheel 29 receives abelt 30 that may be driven in any suitable manner, preferably from an electric motor 31 that is arranged on top of the housing l0.

Arranged beneath the rotary drum and extending 'from a point near the lower portion of door ll to a point a short distance inwardly from the rear wall of housing l() is a curved baille plate 32 that is concentric with the circumferential wall of the drum and which is designed to receive the heav ier particles ot dust that discharge from the lower portion oit the drum while the same is in operation.

Arranged for sliding movementI through the lower portion of the rear wall ot the housing is a dust receiving drawer 33, the inner end ot' which occupies a position beneath the rear end of curved plate 32 when said drawer is in itsnormal'position. lThus all dust that may accumulate on the curved baille plate 32 will gradually be swept into this drawer 32 and which latter may be withdrawn at any time in order to remove the accumulated dust.

Arranged Vagainst the rear wall of the housing is a secondary housing 34 that constitutes a dust bag closet and it is divided by a centrally arranged verticaly disposed partition 35 into two compartments 36 and 37. Suitably hinged doors 38 constitute the outer walls ot these dust bag' chambers 3G and 37.

Arranged on top of this dust closet and above chamber 37 is a suction tan 39, the inlet connection 40 thereof being extended through the upper portion of the rear wall ot housing l0. The discharge outlet 4l ot this suction fan extends downwardly through the top of housing 34 into chamber 37 and conected thereto is the upper end or" a dust collecting bag 42 of woven material such as canvas or drilling. y

Passing through the upper portion of partition 35 is the upper end of a tubular elbow 43 and connected to the end thereof within chamber 36 is the upper end ot a dust collecting bag 44 ol suitable woven material such as canvas or drilling but preferably of tiner mesh than the material irom which bag 42 is formed.

Formed through the upper portion of the rear wall ot housing l() and establishing communication from chamber 36 with the chamber in which the rotary drum operates is a relatively large aperture 45. .ln some instances it may be found desirable to dispense withY the opening45 and provide a. tubular elbow such as 46 that connects the upper portion et chamber 36 with the interior of housing l0 (see Fig. 7).

Suction fan 39 may be driven in any suitable manner but preferably by means of an electric motor 47, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The operation ot my improved dust eX- traror is as follows: rl`he fabric to be dusted is placed in the rotary drum and after door 17 has been securely fastened, motor 3l is started and the engagement of pinion 23 with gear wheel 25 rotates the drum at a predetermined speed, for instance about 2O revolutions per minute.

The drum rotates in the direct-ion indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4 and the dust laden fabric will be repeatedly carried to the upper portion of the drum by the transverse ribs and beaters on the inner face of the periphery thereof and in falling to the bottom of the drum the dust will be extracted or beaten from the fabric and the heavier particles of dust will pass onto baille plate 32 and from said plate they will be gradually swept 'into drawer 33. As motor 47 is operated to drive suction fan 39, dust laden air will be drawn from the upper portion of the chamber within housing l() through connection 40 and this dust laden air will be forced downwardly through` outlet 4l into bag 42 and the greater portion ot the dust or the relatively larger particles thereof will be caught in this bag while the air carrying only the liner particles of dust will pass through the wall of the bag and be drawn through tubular elbow 43 into the dust bag 44 of finer mesh or weave.

This bag effects a separation of the finer particles of dust 'from the air, the latter practically ree of all dust passing through opening 45 to the chamber within housing 10 and after becoming laden with dust, this air will again be drawn through connection 40 into suction tan 39, and by the latter forced into bag 42.

Thus a circulation of air is established from the dusting chamber within housing 10 through the dust collecting bags 42 and 44, and as a result, practically all the dust'will be caught in said bags and any air that escapes from the machine will be practically i'ree trom dust.

At the proper time, or whenever desired, the bags 42 and 44 and the drawer 33 may be removed from the machine and the caught and accumulated dust removed from said bags and drawer.

ln the event that it is found necessary to admit air to the drum chamber within housing l0, small openings such as a are formed in the side of the housing adjacentthe trunnion tor gear wheel 25 and which openings are controlled by sliding cover plates Z1 (see Fig. l).

ln Fig. 8 I have illustrated a modified term ot' the rotary beater, and this `form comprises side walls such as provided with centrally arranged perforated doors 5l that give access to the interior of the drum and supported on rods or rollers 52 that are seat ed in the side walls 50, and upon the inner ends ot transversely disposed V-shaped supports 53 is a flexible member 54 of ribbed or lill;

corrugated rubber or of a heavy fabric. The ends of this section ot material are connected to a clamp 55, the latter having a threaded shank 56 that is engaged by a winged nut 57, thereby providing means for taking up the slack in said member 54 and maintaining the same in a taut condition.

Members 53 are arranged between the members 52 and they project inwardly toward the center of the drum and thus the member 54 provides a flexible wall that is made up of a series of' substantially triangular pockets that are effective in repeatedly carrying the dust laden 'fabric to the top of the drum as the latter is rotated.

ln this form of duster, the perforated door 5l is provided on its outer 'tace with a margin-al band or drum 51 that functions as a pulley that receives a belt l'D from a driven pulley 5lC thus providing simple and eiiicient means tor imparting rotary motion to the drum.

rl'hus it will be seen that I have provided a relatively simple and practical dusting machine that is especially applicable tor ex'- tracting the dust from carpets, rugs, draperies, clothing and the like and which machine is constructed so that very little, if any dust laden air is permitted to escape into the room or building in which the machine is located.

It will be readily understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction ot the various parts of my improved dusting machine may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described, wit-hout departing from the spirit ot the invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claim.

l claim as my invention:

In a dusting machine, the combination with a. main housing and dusting means arranged for operation therein, of a secondary housing located at the end ot the main housing, which secondary housing is divided into two chambers, a suction 'im arranged to draw air from the chamber within the main housing and deliver said air to one ot the two chambers in the .secondary housing, a dust separating bag located in the chamber within the secondary housing to which t-he suction fan delivers air and connected to said suction fan, a tubular connection between the two chambers in the secondary housing, a dust separating bag connected to said tubular connection and arranged in the other one of the two chambers in said seclondary housing and said last mentioned chamber having communication with the interior ot the main chamber in which the dusting mechanism is located.

In testimony whereof l atlix my signature.

VILLIAM H. LA FOUNTAIN. 

